A comprehensive review of state-of-the-art techniques, models and research methods in modern astronomical polarimetry.

Central to this thesis is the characterisation and exploitation of electromagnetic properties of light in imaging and measurement systems. To this end an information theoretic approach is used to formulate a hitherto lacking, quantitative definition of polarisation resolution, and to establish fundamental precision limits in electromagnetic systems. Furthermore rigorous modelling tools are developed for propagation of arbitrary electromagnetic fields, including for example stochastic fields exhibiting properties such as partial polarisation, through high numerical aperture optics. Finally these ideas are applied to the development, characterisation and optimisation of a number of topical optical systems: polarisation imaging; multiplexed optical data storage; and single molecule measurements. The work has implications for all optical imaging systems where polarisation of light is of concern.

This is quite simply the first volume of its kind dedicated to the area of high time resolution astrophysics. High time resolution astrophysics (HTRA) is an important new window on the universe and a vital tool in understanding a range of phenomena from diverse objects and radiative processes. Underlining this science foundation, technological developments in both instrumentation and detectors are described.

Written by an experienced teacher and author, this must-have source for work with polarimetric equipment and polarimetry in astronomy conveys the knowledge of the technology and techniques needed to measure and interpret polarizations. As such, this monograph offers a brief introduction and refresher, while also covering in detail statistics and data treatment as well as telescope optics. For astronomers, physicists and those working in the optical industry.

This book will bring together experts in the field of astronomical photometry to discuss how their subfields provide the precision and accuracy in astronomical energy flux measurements that are needed to permit tests of astrophysical theories. Differential photometers and photometry, improvements in infrared precision, the improvements in precision and accuracy of CCD photometry, the absolute calibration of flux, the development of the Johnson UBVRI photometric system and other passband systems to measure and precisely classify specific types of stars and astrophysical quantities, and the current capabilities of spectrophotometry, and polarimetry to provide precise and accurate data, will all be discussed in this volume. The discussion of `differential’ or `two-star’ photometers will include those developed for planetary as well as stellar photometry and will range from the Princeton polarizing photometer through the pioneering work of Walraven to the differential photometers designed to measure the ashen light of Venus and to counter the effects of aurorae at high latitude sites; the last to be discussed will be the Rapid Alternate Detection System (RADS) developed at the University of Calgary in the 1980s.

Comprehensive, authoritative coverage of interferometric techniques for radio astronomy In this Second Edition of Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy, three leading figures in the development of large imaging arrays, including very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), describe and explain the technology that provides images of the universe with an angular resolution as fine as 1/20,000 of an arcsecond. This comprehensive volume begins with a historical review followed by detailed coverage of the theory of interferometry and synthesis imaging, analysis of interferometer response, geometrical relationships, polarimetry, antennas, and arrays. Discussion of the receiving system continues with analysis of the response to signals and noise, analog design requirements, and digital signal processing. The authors detail special requirements of VLBI including atomic frequency standards, broadband recording systems, and antennas in orbit. Further major topics include: * Calibration of data and synthesis of images * Image enhancement using nonlinear algorithms * Techniques for astrometry and geodesy * Propagation in the neutral atmosphere and ionized media * Radio interference * Related techniques: intensity interferometry, moon occultations, antenna holography, and optical interferometry Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy, Second Edition is comprehensive in that it provides an excellent overview of most radio astronomical instrumentation and techniques.

This volume contains selected and expanded contributions presented at the 3rd Symposium on Space Optical Instruments and Applications in Beijing, China June 28 – 29, 2016. This conference series is organised by the Sino-Holland Space Optical Instruments Laboratory, a cooperation platform between China and the Netherlands. The symposium focused on key technological problems of optical instruments and their applications in a space context. It covered the latest developments, experiments and results regarding theory, instrumentation and applications in space optics. The book is split across five topical sections. The first section covers space optical remote sensing system design, the second advanced optical system design, the third remote sensor calibration and measurement. Remote sensing data processing and information extraction is then presented, followed by a final section on remote sensing data applications.